MAN Roland achieves record results in 2005, with significant rises in North American sales

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Press release from the issuing company

Westmont, Illinois - MAN Roland achieved record orders in fiscal 2005, extending its dominance in the web press market with double-digit sales and completing the turnaround of its sheetfed operations, which attained profitability for 2005 and registered a 57% increase in order backlog.
Profits for Printers
Contributing significantly to the worldwide growth in sales is the continuing success of the company's North American division. "We've gone beyond selling printing systems to printers; we're providing profitability," says Yves Rogivue CEO of MAN Roland Inc. "Our technology, our services and our support gives North American printers the opportunity to acquire new customers because we're widening their profit margins. They are increasingly aware of how we can help their businesses and that is why our sales are rising significantly."
Worldwide Web Leader
Web press orders increased 14% to $1.47 billion (1.18 billion euros), while sales for the web press business area rose 25% to over $1.10 billion (886 million euros). "As for MAN Roland in North America, we continue to see our market share increase year after year, and are very pleased to mark 2005 as yet another record year," notes Vince Lapinski, COO of Web Operations for MAN Roland Inc. "It is important to stay focused on the customer's results, and together with our printing partners, we can even further extend MAN Roland's overall advantage as the worldwide leader in newspaper and commercial web presses."
Sheetfed Success
Sheetfed press orders registered a 9% growth worldwide, totalling $1.15 billion (926 million euros). The North American division contributed to that total with a 41% rise in orders. These orders included multiple, new and repeat purchasers at industry innovators.
Record Totals
In total, MAN Roland increased its order intake by 12% to a record level of $2.63 billion (2.11 billion euros). Future orders at the end of 2005 amounted to $1.76 billion (1.49 billion euros), which was 39% higher than the previous year. That category for sheetfed presses rose by 57% to $251.2 million (213 million euros), while future orders for web presses showed a rise of 36% to total $1.51 billion (1.28 billion euros).
Total operating profits reached $80.0 million (65 million euros), compared to $3.7 million (3.0 million euros) in 2004. The sheetfed press business unit went from a $51 million (41 million euros) loss in 2004 to a $7.5 million (6 million euros) profit.